THE RUM DIARY Production Notes - Visual Hollywood

THE RUM DIARY (2011)
PRODUCTION NOTES
23 years, recalls, ―When it came time to publish ―The Rum Diary,‖ an editor from Simon and
Schuster worked with Hunter, but they really had to control him. He had evolved into a whole
new writer, and he was embarrassed about some of it and wanted to change it. We all told him
that was crazy. He wrote it when he was about twenty. To change it and make this young man‘s
novel more like his later Gonzo-style would have ruined the flavor.‖
Before Thompson had even begun prepping the book to finally see the light of day, a movie
adaptation was already cooking in his and Depp‘s minds. “From that [first] conversation,‖ Depp
says, ―within about 20 minutes we were already talking about the movie rights and how we
should produce this film together.‖
Thompson died in 2005, too soon to see The Rum Diary brought to the big screen. Producer
Graham King wanted to make sure that his legacy would be preserved with the film. ―The film is
a tribute to Hunter. It was amazing to have the opportunity to get involved in one of his stories,
and who better to work with than Johnny Depp?‖
Depp had been a long-time fan of director Bruce Robinson and initially approached him to direct
another Hunter S. Thompson adaptation. ―I met Johnny Depp about twenty years ago because of
my first film, Withnail and I,‖ recalls Robinson ―We got together in London. He asked me if I
would direct Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. At the time I had decided that I didn‘t really want
to direct again. However, if I did, it would only be from a script I had written. By that time, it
was too late; the screenplay had already been written.‖
Depp was determined to have Robinson and Thompson‘s creative spirits eventually cross. As he
puts it, ― Bruce was always somehow in the back of my mind, and when The Rum Diary came up
I said, ‗what about Bruce Robinson?‘ Hunter said, ‗That‘s the ticket, man.‘ Hunter was truly into
it, especially the fact that we had to get Bruce out of retirement!‖ Graham King agrees: ―Withnail
and I is one of my favorite movies. I knew Bruce and Johnny would make a very magical team.‖
―Then later, Johnny sent me a copy of ‗The Rum Diary‘ and asked if I would be interested in
adapting it into a screenplay,‖ says Robinson. ―It was a nightmare at first. I couldn‘t see how it
could be adapted as a film as it has two lead characters, Yeamon and Kemp. It was a long time
before I realized what Hunter had actually done, which was to split himself down the middle into
two characters. When I realized Yeamon was just a facet of Kemp, one of them had to go. Once I
had solved that problem, I could see a way to write it, and decided to have a go.‖
Depp recalls Robinson‘s epiphany with equal enthusiasm. ― Finally it came to him, which none
of us ever recognized. Weirdly, Hunter said something to me years before that I hadn‘t
remembered. Early on, Hunter had said, ‗I should have you know I should have made these guys
one, I should have made them me—but I made them both me.‘ That‘s what Bruce did. He had
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